Why India's humiliating loss to Australia is not a big deal
Cricket turned cruel for India on Saturday as Virat Kohli's famed Test team lost in one of the most humiliating manners to Steve Smith's inspired Australia in Pune.
A 333-run loss in a city located near the Western Ghats was not what experts had predicted. It was not just former India skippers, pundits and top players who had hyped up this series by saying India would win 4-0. Even the knowledgeable and discerning Down Under had warned Australia would find it very tough in India.
By the time the dust and grime had settled down in Pune, hosting a Test match for the first time, the blame game had begun. From "can't play spin" to cursing the Pune curators and even blaming the Indian Premier League auction, all kinds of reasons were attributed to the bizarre defeat!
After such a good run in recent times - home and away - the loss for India could be seen as the law of averages catching up. Given the passionate way cricket is followed at home and also by expats who live in far-flung continents, Saturday's loss did hurt.
This is not the first time India danced to the spin tune, though Steve O'Keefe's dozen wicket haul in the Test was top class. The foundation for such a massive and emphatic win was laid by skipper Steve Smith's century.
His application and concentration on a vicious track was a study for many a batsman who wants to learn a few things about how to play spin in India. The joke doing the rounds on Saturday was how India lost wickets to a spinner - O'Keefe - who really doesn't turn the ball.
The way O'Keefe bowled was fascinating. In the good old days, when Anil Kumble bowled, people said he hardly got the ball to spin and yet claimed wickets. O'Keefe, though, a totally different bowler was a killer with his accuracy and deliveries which have less spin but created a cobweb of confusion in the minds of the Indian batsmen.
The delivery which rocked Kohli's stumps was bowled wide off the crease. The best batsman in the world shouldered arms to a straight ball and the sight was not worth watching.
If sport, or cricket to be precise, is a mental battle, the Aussies have stolen a march in three days. It's a shame the first Test ended so soon and for the paying spectators who may have wanted to come on Sunday, there was nothing left to see other than the ruins left behind by the Indians.
From being underdogs to turning giant killer in such an emphatic fashion, the two Steves' have done a great job. Someone like Shane Warne, who loves baiting his own side, has praised O'Keefe sky high.
Having said that, only pessimists will write away India. Over the last few weeks, Kohli's batting has been described as pure magic and how he is the best batsman in the world. As one who believes in himself and his leadership skills, Kohli has to rise above all the criticism which has already saturated media space in print, web and on air.
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| Over the last few weeks, Virat Kohli's batting has been described as pure magic. (Photo: Reuters) |
We are an unforgiving nation as cricket watchers. From the expert in the local gully to experts in the TV studio, there will be all kinds of opinions. What is most important is that curators at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore produce a good wicket.
If at all the pitch in Pune was doctored, then just by losing the toss, India had done themselves in. A four-Test series does present an opportunity for quick course correction which Kohli and coach Anil Kumble are capable of producing.
And for all those batsmen in the current Indian side who would like to watch replays of their dismissals, it can be very educating. Even if the cricket pitch looks vicious, there were no explosives under it.
Smith's knock needs to be seen by the Indians again on videos. And yes, for this generation - players and fans included - they need to see Sunny Gavaskar produce his magical last Test innings of 96 in Bangalore against Pakistan's quality spin attack of Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed in March 1987. That knock defined the grammar of batting against world class spinners.